Those who put lives on the line deserve coverage

A football player, earning $1 million + a year, playing a sport that is recognized as being ultra-physical and potentially dangerous, gets injured on the field doing what he gets paid to do.

The national media goes wild — exulting him as a national hero and covers the incident 24/7 at nauseum.

Every day, police officers and security personnel across this country, as well as firefighters, put their lives on the line. Many get killed or maimed, keeping us and our families safe. The media hardly reports anything of these many incidents. It doesn’t make “sensational news.”

These are our heroes — not football players.

What is wrong with our society and with our values?

— Gerry Wood

Salisbury

Keep calling out lies, conspiracy theories

I support wholeheartedly Lewellen and Clyde Padgett’s “Call out lies and conspiracy theories” (Jan. 8). The former guy twice impeached continually told lies and his big lie is so implanted in the extreme far right, and all of that keeps the U.S. democratic republic in continued peril.

Not only are that many far right extremists election deniers in the U.S. Congress, have you considered how many from the N.C. delegation fall into that category, including  former Rep. Ted Budd, now elected to the U.S. Senate? And how many far right extremists are among local officials and in the Republican-controlled N.C. General Assembly?

The recent debacle in the U.S. House when it took so many votes and ridiculous promises to elect a Speaker of the House illustrates they cannot govern and are only interested in controlling power and are extremely anti-democracy.

Speak out often against their lies, conspiracy theories and destruction, and God help and protect the USA.

— Pat Safrit Bullard

China Grove

Precedent set on ‘free and fair’ elections

To the Honorable Floyd Prophet, who referred to Hakeem Jeffries as an “election denier” (Jan. 10): During his presidential campaigns in 2016 and 2020,  Donald Trump on many documented occasions declared that both of those elections were “rigged” long before voting began.

He lost the popular vote in these elections. He has set a precedent   From now on there will be doubt about whether there are “free and fair” elections on the local, state and federal levels. That is Trump’s legacy.

Verily I say unto you, wait until he gets warmed up in the 2024 campaign.  You will start hearing it again.

— W.L. Poole

Salisbury